The Intersection at Biscayne National Park of Looting as a Traditional Form of Recreation, Submerged Cultural Resources, and Management Practice

Summary

Protecting archeological sites from looting is one of the constant challenges facing the 66 park units in the Southeast Region of the U.S. National Park Service. One park in particular--Biscayne National Park--eclipses the others in terms of the quantity and destructiveness of looting it suffers. Research since 2010 at the HMS Fowey, English China, Black, Pillar Dollar, Brick, Long Reef Cannon, and other shipwrecks illustrates the severity of the problem. The submerged nature of the resources is part of the explanation of why this particular park is targeted for looting, but it is only part of the picture, as other maritime park resources elsewhere do not receive the same degree of illicit attention. Logistical and institutional barriers have impeded law enforcement as a deterrence method, and it is unclear what alternative strategies, such as stewardship education, might most effectively be brought to bear.

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The Intersection at Biscayne National Park of Looting as a Traditional Form of Recreation, Submerged Cultural Resources, and Management Practice. David Morgan, Dave Conlin, Charles Lawson. Presented at The 80th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, San Francisco, California. 2015 ( tDAR id: 396359)